Scarborough



Dec. 8, 1954 F. SCARBOROUGH FEED FINGER FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES" Filed Dec. 14. 1953 Ill-Ii. 1'

INVENTOR. 1%5009104 Sumo/20w? Mamwy United States Patent Ofiice 2,697,924 asses- P?! Zg .125?

EFEEDFINGERLFOR IGIRCULAR KNITTING LMACHINES h i v ntiq srela e t t n t na.m sh as s th c rc la t-typc. :s c l t r use tkn tin o isry nden wear, sweaters and neckties. Moreparticularly the in- -y vention has reference to a feed finger for such a machine, sald e .sa m apmi ctmg.pi .kncw ta s through which theyarnextend s.

Normally, a feed finger is a one-piece casting. As a result,,,w hen a pin or tube breaks,; the entire finger, rnust be repiaced.

An i p rtant object of. th p esen inve h fo is Ito provide. a. feedfinec hav ng-a. tu d n sl d w i h c t remove from. th .b dY-Qfl nsctWha a .tube-.breaks...thus elimina ng. th ecess y i rep c n the entire finger.

A further object is to provide adevice as stated wherein theremovable and replaceabletslide can be adjusted anytdesired tdistance. from. the. needle .of ,the knitting. nachine. in this way, it is proposed to eliminate the presently existing requirement of stocking fingers in a number of different sizes.

Yet another object is to provide a novelly designed tube that will be particularly well adapted for mounting in a slide of the nature referred to above.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. l is side elevational view of the feed finger, the dotted lines showing one adjusted position.

Fig. 2 is an edge view of the finger seen from the right of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the side opposite that seen in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view on line 6-6 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a greatly enlarged sectional view on line 7- 7 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a still further enlarged elevational View of the tube.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on line 99 of Fig. 8.

The feed finger 10 includes a casting formed with a fiat, elongated, arcuately bowed arm 12 integral at its upper end with a widened head 14 having a mounting member-receiving opening 16. At its lower end arm 12 is integral with a horizontally extended, flat guide portion 18 disposed in a vertical plane and having one of its side surfaces formed with a horizontally extending guideway 20.

The guideway 20 is formed as a shallow groove open at its opposite ends, and provided with straight, parallel side walls. Slidably adjustable in the groove is a fiat, relatively thin slide 22, the inner end of which has integral flanges 24 on its opposite longitudinal edges. The flanges both extend in the same direction out of the main plane of the slide (Fig. 6) and provide thickened bearing surfaces snugly and slidably fitted against the respective side walls of the groove.

A longitudinally and centrally disposed, closed slot 26 is formed in the slide between the guide flanges 24, and receives the shank of a set screw 28 threaded in an opening 29 of the portion 18. Thus, the slide can be adjusted to any sev r l pc t n w s .a'h h .are haw i fa a .do l n i liis n LQWHPQ i iQ the set screw is tightened to hold the slideindhe selected adjustment.

hi clan a testh n e s t ,.Q maint n n a p urality o n r nd fe e n rth {th br ak n at j doe ac eq r remo 0 .lhas r fias r int only 'thes lide need be removed.

The outer endof the slideis formed integrally with a head-.3 av n it p z u f c a. trai t-S ded eros v 3 A ub 3 is cn ese n a v c gbq .36- p nine atit uppe en t the rqov an enin swath underside of the head at its lower end. The tube, ,atits pp n n t orm dw sq hea t a de ne atit ow n .dswmra i l .f insahq l anfiflsn g able Iagainst I the base of groove 32 j t o limit downward movement of the tube in bore 36. -.The side"s]42,;of.the hea .38. meanw n a h s es 9 hastqQv it hold the tube against rotation.

At its lower end the tube isbeveled asat 44.

l e p c la i rma q o h t b rv Of cour to effect a proper setting of the tubednhcad 'Qqilwitli a min mumfi difiiculty- Mc cly y; n in th id sinto alignment with the sides of; groovefil, the beveled end will-.be properly, located. The shoulder 40, Iat the same time sefrvestohold the tube again stfdowjnward moyernent, thus cooperating with thesides' 42 inproperly positioning the tube. i

-,;W,hile Lhave illustrated and described -.the preferred embodiment. of ,my invention, it is tobe understood t L donot limitgnyself to, the precise constructionjjhe in dis osed andsthe right. is reservedtoall.changesljand modifications coming within the scopebf the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as. new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patcut is:

l. A feed finger for circular knitting machines comprising an arm, and a slide adjustably connected thereto and adapted for holding a yarn carrier tube, said finger including a guide portion rigid with one end of the arm and having a guideway in which the slide is slidably fitted, the slide having a longitudinal slot, said finger including a set screw extending through said slot and threadably engaged in the guide portion to retain the slide in selected positions of adjustment.

2. A feed finger for circular knitting machines comprising a casting including an arm, means at one end of the arm to mount the same on a knitting machine, and a guide portion on the other end of the arm, said guide portion having a recess formed in one side thereof, a slide engaged in said recess, said slide including guide flanges at one end slidably engaged with the walls of the slot, and a head at its other end formed with a tubereceiving bore, the slide having a slot, and a set screw threaded in the guide portion and extending through said slot to hold the slide in selected positions of adjustment.

3. A feed finger for circular knitting machines comprising a casting including an arm, means at one end of the arm to mount the same on a knitting machine, and a guide portion on the other end of the arm, said guide portion having a recess formed in one side thereof, a slide engaged in said recess, said slide including guide flanges at one end slidably engaged with the Walls of the slot, and a head at its other end formed with a tubereceiving bore, the slide having a slot, and a set screw threaded in the guide portion and extending through said slot to hold the slide in selected positions of adjustment, the slide being formed as a fiat member and the guide flanges projecting in one direction out of the main plane of said member.

4. A feed finger for circular knitting machines comprising a casting including an arm, means at one end of the arm to mount the same on a knitting machine, and a guide portion on the other end of the arm, said guide portion having a recess formed in one side thereof, a slide engaged in said recess, said slide including guide flanges at one end slidably engaged with the walls of the slot, and a head at its other end formed with a tubereceiving bore, the slide having a slot, and a set screw threaded in the guide portion and extending through said slot to hold the slide in selected positions of adjustment, the slide being formed as a flat member and the guide flanges projecting in one directionout of the main plane of said member, the head of said slide having a recess communicating with the bore and adapted to receive the head of a supported tube.

5. A feed finger for circular knitting machines comprising a casting including an arm, means at one end of the arm to mount the same on a knitting machine, and a guide portion on the other end of the arm, said guide portion having a recess formed in one side thereof, a slide engaged in said recess, said slide including guide flanges at one end slidably engaged with the walls of the slot, and a head at its other end formed with a tubereceiving bore, the slide having a slot, and-a set screw threaded in the guideportion and extending through said slot to hold the slide in selected positions of adjustment, the slide being formed as a flat member and the guide flanges projecting in one direction out of the main plane of said member, the head of said slide having a recess communicating with the bore and adapted to receive the head of a supported tube, said recess of the slide head having straight, flat sidewalls for engagement of com plementary side surfaces of a tube head, thus to hold the supported tube against rotation. g I p 6. A feed finger forcircular knittingmachines comprising a casting including an arm, means at one end of the arm to mount the same on a knitting machine, and a guide portion on the other end of the arm, said guide portion having arecessformed inone side thereof, a slide engaged in said recess, said slide including guide flanges at one end slidably engaged with the walls of the slot, and a head at its other end formed with a tubereceiving bore, the slide having a slot, and a set screw threaded in the guide portion and extending through said slot to hold the slide in selected positions of adjustment, the slide being formed as a flat member and the guide flanges projecting in one direction out of the main plane of said member, the headof said slide having a recess communicating with the bore and adapted to receive the head of a supported tube, said recess of the slide head having straight, flat side wallsfor engagement of complementary side surfaces of a tube head, thus to hold the supported tube against rotation, the slide head recess having in addition a fiat bottom surface adapted to engage a shoulder on the supported tube to limit endwise movement of the tube in one direction.

7. A yarn carrier tube for circular knitting machines comprising a tubular body, and an enlarged head on one end of the body, said head being of cubical configuration.

8. A yarn carrier tube for circular knitting machines comprising a tubular body, and an enlarged head on one end of the body, said head being of cubical configuration, the head being substantially greater in respect to its transverse dimension than the diameter of the tube, thus to form a shoulder at the base of the head.

References Cited in the file of this patent k UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,675,627 Willard July 3, 1928 2,295,450 Cole Sept. 8, 1942 2,317,318 Weisbecker Apr. 20, 1943 2,560,955 Jents'ch July 17, 1951 2,570,388 Kaul Oct. 9, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 604,511 Great Britain July 6, 1948 

